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I really love the idea of a cruise wedding. I want to do in on Carnival and I read that you are not allowed to have your own photographer. But can guests take pictures? My uncle in a professional photographer so I'm hoping he can get in a lot of pictures since he's technically a guest and not the photographer.

I really love the idea of a cruise wedding. I want to do in on Carnival and I read that you are not allowed to have your own photographer. But can guests take pictures? My uncle in a professional photographer so I'm hoping he can get in a lot of pictures since he's technically a guest and not the photographer.

Welcome Honeymooner15!

I did not personally bring a professional photographer on board, but I do know of at least two Carnival Magic brides who have done so. If you choose to have your uncle act as the photographer, Carnival will have you fill out a form on board, stating why you are not choosing to use their photography services. Guests can take as many pictures as they want during the wedding and reception.

For my son's wedding we did not use the ship's photographer. However, since it was formal night when the wedding was in the daytime, they were able to dress up again and have many photos made at the different locations. The guest also were able to take many pictures during the wedding/reception that they used many of those to put in their wedding album.

I've heard of some people being allowed to have guests take photos and I've heard of some getting told to stop, particularly if they have a professional looking camera. Most people are at least able to take several shots, if not take pictures all through the ceremony, so it doesn't hurt to try. I think you technically are not allowed to have anyone other than Carnival's photographer taking any pictures during the wedding ceremony. They aren't as picky about it during the reception though. And there's not restrictions for photos after wedding or posed photos. But, since their photographer is included, I would go ahead and have both photographers take pictures. That way you have pics available if your uncle gets told to stop. And if you decide you really like some of the ships photos, you can buy them, but don't necessarily need to buy all or as many, since you will have photos from your uncle as well.

I have a semi-professional photo in the family also. But I decided that I want her to actually enjoy the ceremony, instead of being photographer. But, I plan to have her do posed photos afterward, along with Carnival's photographer. That way I have more options. If I like hers better, than I don't need to pay the ships high cost for photos. If the ships photos turn out really good, I still have the option to buy them.

My advice is to keep the Carnival photographer (they do a ton of shots after the reception onboard for you) and you're not obligated to purchase any - only the poses you like. Have your uncle take photos during the ceremony/reception. Carnival doesn't need to know he's a professional photographer.

One of our nonsailing guests had a fancy camera and took tons of photos. She sent me copies of everything and I ended up not buying any "candid" photos that the Carnival photographer took (because hers were just as good - and FREE). I ended up purchasing about 10-15 of the posed pictures the Carnival photographer took.

Our guests took photos and videos throughout the ceremony and reception- at one point hardly anyone was in their seats. Carnival had no issue whatsoever with this. I am glad we used the Carnival photographer as well because his pictures were absolutely amazing.

I agree with most of what was said already. Keep the Carnival photographer b/c his services are part of the Carnival wedding package anyway. You can decide later if you like his photos enough to purchase.

I was nervous about what the quality of my assigned photographer's photos would be. Most brides get to select and interview their own photographers and look at their portfolio beforehand, Cruise brides are stuck with whoever they get assigned.

In lieu of Carnival's videography services, I opted to rent the standard 5-ipod cameras from WedIt and asked my guests to photograph and take video of different parts of the ceremony. I paid for 2 weeks of rental b/c of my unique situation and it came out to be less than half of what Carnival was charging for videography. I have yet to get the downloadable footage from all the Wedit cameras, but we were able to look at the pics/video on each ipod during the week. We also had so much extra space on each of them, that my guests were able to hold onto it and photograph their trip and essentially what was our honeymoon.

Back to the Carnival photography, I was genuinely surprised at the quality of the photos we had to choose from. I was disappointed that I didn't have many of those fun "bridal party" shots that "normal" brides get, but such is life. We ran behind on getting ready so he didn't get much of me with my bridesmaids, if any. My groom and his groomsmen had some really nice ones though.

We ended up electing to purchase the coffee table book that the photographer prepared for us. It was $1600. WAY TOO MUCH $$$$, but we figured: this wedding is a one-time-thing for both of us (we hope!! hah!) and we were gifted a lot of money to be used for something just like this, anyway. Since we also closed on our first house on the same day of our wedding (woohoo!!), we thought it would be nice to have in our living room to share with guests.

To sum up: don't discount Carnival's photography. But be prepared. Prices are outrageous and ridiculous.

The photographer at my wedding had no problem with friends and family taking photos (even with professional type cameras), but they couldn't follow up on the the artistic photos around the ship. I will say though to take the advertised price list with you. I didn't and it turns out that the photographers are not cruise ship employees and don't have to stick to the advertised prices unless you can prove them and mine cost double what I expected to pay. They were worth it - the photos were amazing - but I would have liked to know that BEFORE I was paying the bill. I paid and Carnival could do nothing after the fact to correct the pricing. Apparently, if I had been able to prove pricing they have to honor it.

I recently was married on board the carnival Magic August 4th 2013. We were married at the Galveston port before it sailed. I had a friend that had a very nice camera and took great pictures too. I used a wedding app that allows guests to take pictures and upload them throughout the event. Those were awesome shots too. It's called WedPics.

I wanted to say that the best experience was Carnival's Photographer Raquel Bumanglag. She was truly amazing. Our photos were amazing and she was so professional, polite, and extremely talented.

I didn't and it turns out that the photographers are not cruise ship employees and don't have to stick to the advertised prices unless you can prove them and mine cost double what I expected to pay. They were worth it - the photos were amazing - but I would have liked to know that BEFORE I was paying the bill. I paid and Carnival could do nothing after the fact to correct the pricing.

This confuses me because our photographer was a Carnival employee. The photos were terrific and the prices were not any higher than our pricing sheet said- even though that was subject to change. Every experience is different but you should be able to negotiate a bit. We recieved the beautiful wedding book, several prints, cards with our wedding pictures to use as thank you cards, and EVERY photo that was taken by the photographer for less than the most expensive advertised package.

Maybe it depends on sailing and situation, but that was not the case at my wedding. They wouldn't negotiate and match the prices that I knew (but didn't have the proof with me). Overall, I was very happy with the service and I did love my photos, but I was assured afterwards by Carnival that our photographer was a contractor and not an employee. That may not have been true, just what we were told. I AM happy, but I don't think it ever hurts to have proof of pricing with you to avoid any issues.

I recently was married on board the carnival Magic August 4th 2013. We were married at the Galveston port before it sailed. I had a friend that had a very nice camera and took great pictures too. I used a wedding app that allows guests to take pictures and upload them throughout the event. Those were awesome shots too. It's called WedPics.

I wanted to say that the best experience was Carnival's Photographer Raquel Bumanglag. She was truly amazing. Our photos were amazing and she was so professional, polite, and extremely talented.